Turning
by leneo
Summary: Atemu Yami is the most popular guy in school and Yugi is that little kid that he just can't stand. What happens when they share an afternoon in detention together? Puzzleshipping!
1. Chapter 1: Detention

**I just want to give a huge thank you to my beta reader: ****clairissazeniarosele, who has been a huge help editing this chapter!**

X

Chapter 1: Detention

X

Atemu, the self-proclaimed cool boy, lifted his head off the desk, and looked across the room until he reached his friend Bakura. Sighing, he dropped his head hopelessly back into his arms. It had only been five minutes since the teacher had left to get a coffee, and maybe ten since detention had started.

Oh, of all the things he would rather be doing right now!

There was total silence coming from the first-timers at the front of the room, the only sound of their pencils vigorously being applied to paper. Bakura leaned back against his chair, holding a lighter to the end of a piece of paper, flicking the flame on and off as it kissed the paper edges.

"Why are you here?"

Atemu looked up, noticing a girl in some of his classes, Miho was seated a few desks away. She was faced in his direction with a flirtatious flare, buttons undone to show a large part of her left breast. She pressed herself against the top of the desk as she looked him over.

"Me?" he asked her, not surprised a girl like Miho was making an attempt at him. "Piss off, Miho, I'm not in the mood."

Laughing, Miho fluttered her eyelashes innocently, unaware that she sounded like a malfunctioning music player, a repeating sound stuck on one cord.

Atemu pressed his lips firmly together and clenched a fist, wishing people were not so curious about his personal life. But he had always been taught to treat girls with respect. Even if he found them annoying, he was still followed around by them on a daily basis, which pushed his patience close to its limit. He gave her a cold glare before he rekindled his interest in the clock. He leaned back in his chair, pushed his legs out, and then grabbed hold of his paper. Frustrated, he scrunched it up and threw it at a random person at the front of the room.

It hit a short boy in the back of the head, making a light sound as it slipped to the floor. The boy peered around curiously, but as soon as the pair of eyes caught Atemu's intense stare, he retreated back to his work. He smirked at the little boy called Yugi, who was trying his hardest to avoid a fight.

Atemu had noticed the boy before, of course, but had never paid much attention, as he was too much of a goody-goody to draw his interest. Following this, his face appeared much younger than the high school age he was. Almost cute, in a way. How did a little shrimp like him end up in detention anyway?

When the student no longer looked at him, Atemu finally relaxed.

God, I can't stand people like him.

A sandy-haired student's head spun around to look over his shoulder. His eyes locked on to Atemu immediately, as if they were equipped with ready-loaded rifles. Atemu recognized him as Jounouchi, a boy in his year who had always annoyed him since he had arrived at the school. If it wasn't the way that he laughed at every situation in class, it was the fact he always put his nose into other peoples businesses.

"What do you want, punk?"

Atemu raised his eyebrows at the boy's outburst. Normally nobody would have had the guts to speak up to him, so this was a completely new experience for the Egyptian. He had known his distant cousin Kaiba had been dating Jounouchi for a couple of months, and for his life he couldn't figure out why, but this was the first time that the boy had said anything to Atemu. This was also partly due to the fact that Atemu had really nothing to do with his cousin anyway, apart from the obvious fact that they shared the same blood. Now that he thought about it, he didn't particularly like him much either.

He did not make any effort to acknowledge that the boy had spoken, and pulled his hand up from the desk to look at his nails. Jounouchi got up from his desk, clutching his fists tightly and baring his teeth through an open grimace. Yugi shot a hand out to grab his friend's arm, looking at him with big eyes.

"Don't worry about him, Jou, he isn't worth it."

"I am sick of people thinking they can do whatever they want to you though, Yug'."

Jounouchi paused on his advancement to Atemu, turning halfway on the balls of his feet in the direction of his friend. He pouted his lip slightly as he connected with Yugi's pleading eyes. The little boy considered his friend's situation for a moment before he slowly loosened his grip on his friend's arm and allowed Jounouchi to turn his attention back to Atemu.

"You think you are so cool!" Jounouchi spat, banging his hands down on Atemu's desk to get his full attention. "I don't care that you're Kaiba's cousin, the rule still applies. Why don't you stand up for yourself, instead of picking on people who are not as strong as you just to make yourself feel better?"

Atemu held his hands up. "I'm sorry if I offended you or something… I didn't do anything at all except-"

"You were picking on my friend, that's what!"

"By throwing a piece of paper?" Atemu asked. "I wasn't even aiming at anyone in particular, it is nothing personal."

Bakura had gotten up from his desk and had snuck over to claim the top of the desk next to his friend. His mouth was stretched widely, from ear to ear, aimed at Jounouchi. The boy didn't seem fazed at all by the wild gaze he was held in, and he maintained his eye contact with Atemu.

"People like you just can't leave us alone!" He threw his hands up in the air, before sending a forceful point with his right hand. "If you touch him again, I will make sure you can never stand again."

"Why don't you prove it, then?" Bakura challenged, folding his arms and leaning back carelessly. "I bet you couldn't fight yourself out of a blanket."

Jounouchi redirected his pointed finger at Bakura. "You take that back!"

"No."

The boy lunged at Bakura, but wasn't quick enough to catch him, as he slipped off the desk and ended up landing headfirst on the floor. Bakura sniggered at the boy's clumsiness.

Bakura dropped beside the fallen boy, pulling out his lighter, and holding it to his sandy hair. Atemu sighed, getting to his feet, and gave his friend a look of disapproval. He didn't want the both of them to get in any more trouble than they were in already.

"What did I tell you?" he said lightly to Atemu as his friend approached him, his finger close to the trigger.

"Please, let him go," Yugi pleaded, his quivering voice catching Atemu's attention.

The boy was shivering, his face completely pale and his eyes wide at the scene before him. Tears were beginning to surface at the edges of his eyes. It was at that moment that Atemu wondered why he had never noticed how beautiful this boy's eyes- no, this boy was before... He mentally hit himself for thinking such thoughts, but that didn't stop the tiny observations.

"How pathetic," Bakura chuckled, dropping his hand down and putting his mouth close to Jounouchi's ear. "I think your little friend here is trying to save you."

Atemu snatched the lighter out of his friend's hand and chucked it on the desk top beside him. Bakura eyed his friend suspiciously. "Bakura, I can handle these idiots on my own," Atemu assured him, trying his best to edge his friend off.

Reluctantly, Bakura pushed back from Jounouchi and returning to a nearby desk next to his friend. Jounouchi mumbled something as he pulled his disheveled form from the floor, brushing the dirt off from his clothes. He didn't look up at Atemu or Bakura, keeping his head held low so their stares remained blocked off by his mop-like hair.

The sudden intrusion by Atemu caused Yugi to glance up at him in surprise. His eyes were a warm purple, and his face had a soft childlike form.

Atemu looked away, aware of what he had just done. He had never said no to Bakura so publicly before. Yugi moved away from his desk and rushed over to check the condition of his friend, talking in soft, hushed tones as he helped Jounouchi slowly back to their desks.

"We've always got school on Monday," Atemu joked, trying to break down the wall which Bakura was slowly building around himself.

About ten minutes later, the silence was punctured by the screeching of a desk being dragged up against Atemu's desk, and moments later Bakura dropped himself down beside his friend. His eyes were burning into Atemu's skin as he held them there for a long time, expectantly awaiting his friend's attention.

Atemu closed his eyes for a second to calm himself down before he tilted his face towards Bakura. "What?"

"You are staring at that little freak and his friend."

"No."

"Then explain why you said no to me."

"Bakura can you give it a rest for fuck sake, he is the boyfriend of my cousin. We are in detention, and I just want to be able to…"

"I was just trying to protect you."

"And for that I thank you, but for once can you just let me fight my own fights?"

Bakura appeared wounded by his friend's words for the first in a long time- ever since they had been little boys. They had grown up together, and Bakura had always inherently stood up to all the bullies that had crossed their paths, which had made living more bearable. He had always protected Atemu, because that is what had been expected of him as a servant in their master's household in Egypt. But Bakura did not do it simply for duty. He was Atemu's oldest and closest friend.

Bakura seemed to give up in his attempts to question his friend, turning, instead, to look at the class in front. He folded one arm, and use the other to pull out a box of cigarettes from his trouser pocket. He pushed a cigarette between his lips and then used his free hand to light the end of it. He offered the box out to Atemu as if trying to make a truce, but his friend politely declined.

"Fuck you, Yami."

"Detection?"

"When has that ever stopped you before?" Bakura questioned, eyeing his friend as if there was something infectious about him.

Atemu ignored his friend, struggling with several questions himself, concerning his own problems. Bakura chucked the box on the desk, along with the lighter, and vacated the room. Atemu figured his friend wouldn't be coming back for the rest of detention.

X

Some time later, Jounouchi came and took a seat near Atemu. Pulling his head up from his desk, Atemu was surprised to see who he was being confronted by, considering the events previously. Jounouchi took after his boyfriend in a lot a ways, however, as he seemed to have no fear at all towards his lover's cousin.

"What the fuck are weaklings like you doing in detention anyway?"

Jounouchi regarded him. "Why don't we begin first with my own questions? Since I believe your actions have shown me no reason to answer anything from you."

"Fine," Atemu spat, locking eyes with Jounouchi.

"Firstly…" He paused, his eyes darted off to the vacant desk Bakura had once occupied. "Why do you hang out with people like him?"

Atemu shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Kaiba had some warped opinion that you are actually a decent person."

"That would be one thing I can agree about Kaiba. He had strange opinions."

"Now, Bakura."

"That's none of your business."

"Then tell me, why do you hide behind people like him?"

"I am not hiding behind anyone. I just don't want to get into any sort of fight. I should be asking you, instead, why you felt the need to take it so personally that it ended up becoming a physical fight."

"You were hiding when we were small children, behind your father's tiles, and you are still hiding behind your popularity at school now."

Atemu didn't reply and he pulled his attention away to find some sanctuary in the spots on his desk top. He didn't want to think about all the other stuff his cousin had been saying to his dog behind closed doors.

"Exactly," Jounouchi said, taking the boy's silence as evidence to his speculations, "You can't even admit to yourself that it is what you are doing because you know it is true. Now why don't you keep me and my friends away from your insecurities. Don't call me or Kaiba if it all turns in a complete circle!"

"Detention, what gives?" Atemu suddenly retorted back, trying to regain some ground.

"No reason for myself anyway," Jounouchi shook his head, looking like he was about to laugh. "Now lastly, what do you have against every human being in existence?"

"So you just tagged along to protect mister baby-face here?" Atemu suggested bitterly, realizing after that that was something Bakura might have said.

"Yes," Jounouchi replied bluntly.

Upset with his lack of reaction, Atemu continued by saying, "And just so you know, I don't despise everyone!"

Jounouchi stared for a long time before he gave up on getting any other answers of Atemu. He turned his attention away, as quickly as it had arrived, and took to his feet again, marching over to Yugi.

X

Detention had just finished and Atemu was looking through his bag for his Walkman when there was a light rustling sound which echoed through the wood of Atemu's desk. Sleepily, he lifted his head and became aware of a crumpled bit of paper perched on the end on his desk. He frowned for a moment as he tried to work out how it had got there, then reached out to look at over.

As his eyes readjusted to the light, from the darkness of his bag, he became aware of an overhanging shadow, which blocked his view of the board. He pushed his eyes up a bit more and they connected with the same warm purple he had seen earlier.

He sat back against his chair, running a hand loosely through his hair, not taking his eyes of the figure standing before him.

"I thought you might want this back," The soft voice said, indicating to the paper in Atemu's left hand.

Atemu suddenly felt slightly guilty that he had hit Yugi's head with it. At the same time, he was meant to hate the kid, so he did not make that apparent on his face as he continued to stare sheepishly at the boy.

"I wanted to thank you..." he began, and although he didn't smile, it seemed he wasn't as angry as he had feared, "… For holding off your friend. Even though I'm still annoyed at him for attacking Jounouchi like that."

His eyes darted down to look at the paper on the desk, and he added, "My name is Yugi by the way, if you had wanted to ask."

Wait, what? Atemu went slightly red, and he raised an eyebrow at the boy who had just stated a well-known fact. He opened his mouth to retort, but Yugi shook his head. What exactly did this boy want from him?

"I already know who you are, everybody does… And that Kaiba is your cousin. But don't worry, you don't need to say anything. I just wanted you to know that there is no harm done. You know my name now, and all is forgiven."

Yugi shyly looked back up at Atemu and gave him a small smile. "I will let you get back to whatever you are doing now, but I want you to know that Jou and I are not blaming you for Bakura. I know the paper was not meant to hit anyone in particular. Also, if you get sick of the popular life, as Jou sometimes puts it, Kaiba would be more than happy to share his friends…" He took a step back and his eyes seemed to dart upwards before back to his eyes. "Nice hair by the way!"

Yugi turned away. Having returned his papers to the teacher at the front, he left the classroom to the calls of his waiting friends, who had just poked their heads in to see what had kept him. One thing was for certain after that conversation. Yugi didn't seem to know about a thing called social boundaries.

X

Atemu vacated the class and walked casually down the hall. He stopped outside his locker and shoved all his equipment inside except his Walkman. After, he slipped on a warm jacket and scarf he had found hanging in his locker. Having just shut his locker and slipping an earpiece into his ear, he was halfway down the hall when a loud noise interrupted him.

"Fucking teacher!" Bakura shouted, probably so the teacher could hear him, as he came out of the office just ahead. He stopped when he caught sight of his friend, to wait for him.

Atemu smirked at him amused. "Well then. Maybe you shouldn't have left halfway through detention."

Bakura glared at him. "Well maybe he shouldn't have been such a bloody prick!"

Atemu pushed open the front door to the school, and Bakura trailed after him, still huffing about his lack of smokes. A cold wind from the settled frost and the descended night came up and brushed against Atemu's face, causing him to pull the scarf tighter around his mouth. It was times like this where he wished he was back at home in Egypt but, then again, that would mean he would have to put up with his good-for-nothing parents.

"Hey Bakura," Atemu called to get his friend's attention.

The boy looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Catch!" Atemu threw the cigarette packet and lighter in his friend's direction. He caught them effortlessly.

"Oh, thank Ra!" Bakura exclaimed, quickly lighting himself a cigarette. "I might need to get some more."

"We can stop by somewhere on the way back to the flat if you just stop moaning!"

"I was not moaning, moaning is the sound you get when you have your dick shoved up-"

"I do not need to know that."

Bakura chuckled at Atemu's weak stomach.

"You obviously don't get around much, Yami," he sniggered, crossing the main road in front of the school, without so much as a glance as he crossed. Atemu was more cautious and allowed a few cars to pass before he jogged to catch up with Bakura.

"As I have told you many times, Bakura, there is more to life than finding a new conquest each night."

"What do you think of that little Yugi I noticed you staring at?"

"Nothing, he was just an annoying friend of Jouno-"

"Then what happened when he came up to your desk?"

Atemu frowned, wondering how he had known about the incident. "He had just come over to say thanks for not hurting his friend… I wasn't paying much attention."

"Whatever."

Atemu felt slightly relieved that Bakura didn't push the matter, but even more so grateful that he wasn't one to hold a grudge for long. Against him, anyway.

X


	2. Chapter 2: School

Chapter 2

Ever since Yugi had been a small boy he had loved games. Some would say that was because his grandpa owned the Kame Game Shop in Domino city and Yugi would be willing to agree with them on that part but really he put it down to his natural gift.

When he was in middle school, he had been the top chess player in his year and his district, but shying away from the idea of being in the spotlight in a national tournament he quickly developed an interest in a new game. He had discovered Duel Monsters in the shop when he was unpacking some new stock. He had become captivated by it and spent all night playing it against his grandpa.

Yugi liked all games, but particularly the ones that involved strategy which is why we warmed up to chess and Duel Monsters a lot easier than others. But when he had had the chance he would use is the pocket-money he earned working in the shop to go play a few games at the arcade after school. Games provided Yugi a moment forget the world around him and become totally absorbed in a place of sanctionary from the real world.

At the start of middle school, Yugi had been a loner, but this love for games he has allowed him to forge some strong friendships. Yugi had not forgotten how Jonouchi had treated him at junior school but as soon as they had moved into Middle school things started to change.

There were the still, however, were bullies who took advantage of Yugi's petite stature, but his new friends gave him the courage to stand up to them. There were the times when they were in Gym class when normally Yugi had been the last to be picked for a team, the only one without a partner in things. But his friends made sure that he was never without a partner, or was the last, his friends gave him a sense of belonging which he had never felt before.

Yugi was a quiet and reserved being who found the progression from junior to middle school hard, for one his childhood friend Masaki Anzu had migrated into a group of female friends and popularity. Yugi did not mind that Anzu had found some new friends, but deep down he had always wished for a group of his own.

Jounouchi had stood up to a bully one lunch time when he had over-heard them calling the little boy a fag and from then on Yugi was kept relatively close to the boy. They quickly became close friends and Yugi never once questioned his friend's progression from being a bully to best friend. Yugi believed that everyone had the potential for forgiveness. Their love for games and this understanding was the drive in their friendship.

The end of middle school had drawn to a close, by this time, Yugi had collected a tight bunch of friends. Anzu had slipped back into Yugi's group which consisted of Jonouchi, Honda and Malik by the end of the last year which allowed them to reconnect as old friends.

X

The rain had woken Yugi moments before his alarm went off to remind him that it was Monday. He moaned, rolling over to hush its loud ringing; he did not want to awake Grandpa.

Yugi slipped from the bed, and undressed himself as he wandered into the bathroom to have a shower. As he was disposing of his last item of clothing he caught his own reflection in the mirror and he frowned slightly. His mind suddenly crossed over a familiar boy he had last seen on Friday, he blushed slightly when he remembered how good-looking he had been. No, cut that, Atemu had _always_ been handsome. But Yugi was straight, right? So how could he have such thoughts for a boy, or anyone as arrogant at him? He was an infamous jerk after all…

He shook his head energetically to rid himself of the reminder and leaned into the shower to switch the water on. He returned to looking at himself as the water warmed up. The voices in his head slowly started to creep back to a memory from last year when he had first seen Atemu. He come into his history class as a transfer student from Egypt, and he had been quickly snatched up by the 'popular crowd.'

Atemu had never been a very intimidating individual, although he had in the past been slightly horrible to students in Yugi's class. Also, he fact he hung out will Bakura -just a look from the wolf-like boy had Yugi's heart jumping out of his mouth. But he never laid a hand on anyone, unless one counted Bakura's physical confrontations as being ordered by Atemu.

Strangely, that didn't seem to bother Yugi anymore, it was as if the detention on Friday had revealed something about the pair that had seemed unnatural to them before. Bakura obviously cared a lot about his friend and Atemu obviously felt the same way, not in a romantic way at all but something that Yugi himself shared with Jou.

He still didn't know what had drawn him to Atemu after detention, he knew that the boy was not his biggest fan in the whole world and had openly spoken behind his back about how annoying he could be… But, Yugi had still returned the paper to the boy's desk, he had even openly forgiven him for being a prick to Jounochi, and to top it off it he had offered the boy a spot in their gang! He did not know what Jounochi would say when he found out. Yugi hoped that he did not have to deal with anything as a result of his slightly forward approach to make sure Atemu would not be annoyed at him, or as a result of the fight want to seek revenge against Jounouchi later on at school.

Jounouchi was pissed off that Atemu had bothered Yugi the way he had, but Yugi knew that it was purely just an act through boredom, and Jou had taken it too personally. He had to remember though that Atemu, despite all his good looks and charm, was one of those guys. He was in Bakura's gang where trouble was its name and even if Atemu wanted to get involved with some like Yugi, it would never work. And despite appearing to have been a prince on Friday, they all knew he was supposed to hate everyone that was not his own.

Yugi tested the water before stepping into the spray. Closing his eyes, he suddenly became aware of his area below twitching slightly when he recalled once how he had caught of Atemu once shirtless in the changing rooms of the gym, Yugi had reverted to getting changed in the changing rooms after that. Yugi decided from then on he would never think of anyone whilst showering again.

Yugi turned off the shower and returned to his room to get changed into his uniform. He wanted to get his school supplies ready before breakfast.

X

Yugi pulled his jacket tighter around his body and pushed the rain jacket's hood over his head before he emerged from the Game Shop. It was raining lightly outside, and despite looking like a fool in the school's winter uniform, Yugi did not want to take any chances. He had not enjoyed the last rainy day when he had been stupid enough to walk to school without a jacket and he has spent the next week, paying for it. With a horrid cold, not to mention his uniform took days to dry out completely…

Yugi was bombarded by Jounouchi and Malik as he took his first step onto the pavement.

"Yugi!" They cried joyously, as they wrapped Yugi in their arms, pulling him in for an awkward group hug.

"Hey guys!" Yugi murmured, pressed up against Jounouchi's arm. "If I didn't know better if would seem like I haven't seen any of you for weeks!"

He was surprised any of them heard him for when they all had untangled from each other's arms they all nodded in agreement.

"I thought I was going to die of boredom stuck at home!" Jounouchi said.

Malik looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you said you had spent all your time with Kaiba?"

The skin beneath Jounouchi's eyes became a bright pink. He flung himself at his friend attempting to reach forward for Malik to give him a headlock, but the boy had become an expert at avoidance for people like Jounouchi. Malik wiggled his eyebrows about playfully and making chicken noises as he laughed at his friend's failure.

Yugi's face was exploding with a huge smile which stretched the perimeter of his face as he watched his two best friends, enjoying the light atmosphere as Malik teased Jonouchi about Kaiba.

"It did seem like such a long time ago now!" Anzu exclaimed sarcastically, coming up behind the group with Honda hanging close at her side, having overheard Yugi moments ago.

Yugi lifted a hand out from his jacket pocket to wave at the two of them, and his eyes connected with Anzu's for a second.

"How was your weekend Yugi?" Anzu asked lightly, coming in to give him a hug.

As the taller girl put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug he gave her a brief reply. "I was helping grandpa in the shop. I was good though."

"And detention on Friday?"

"Let's just say Bakura happened…" Yugi admitted, pulling back so they could see each other, Anzu raised an eyebrow at him.

"By the way, when are you guys going to tell me how you ended up there?"

Yugi blushed nervously and laughed at Anzu's curiosity. "You know Tetsu?"

Anzu nodded knowingly.

"Well, he kind of became my paid bodyguard on Friday and he beat up a kid because he thought he had looked at me funny… And then science teacher found out, Tetsu said I had done it, and Jounouchi had stood up for me and that's how it all happened."

"What happened to Tetsu?"

"I am not quite sure, but I think it would be best if I tried to avoid him today he probably expects me to pay for his service, which I hadn't even asked for…"

Anzu suddenly looked down at her phone that she had grasped in her hand and back at her friends. "We should probably be going now if we are to get to school on time!"

Jounouchi looked at his friend skeptically. "Who are you? And what have you done to our friend Anzu?"

Yugi laughed along with Anzu and added. "Why are you eager to get to school? We have a whole hour, and it doesn't take long to get to school from here."

Anzu glared at Jounouchi and began to walk at a steady pace. Everyone jogged to catch up with her and they walked in a cluster, recounting their weekend to each other as they walked to school.

X

Yugi and Jounouchi plonked their bags down at a vacant set of desks, near the back of the science classroom and hung around waiting for the class to begin.

"Want to play some Duel Monsters before class starts?"

Yugi looked up from his opened bag as he pulled a book and some pens out to put on his desk. He rolled his eyes at the fact Jonouchi had bought cards to school, he was too predictable. "I will later, yeah? I just want to try to get back into the school's good books."

Jounouchi scowled, and slipped a hand into his trouser pocket. "What are you saying exactly?"

The little boy rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying anything about you Jounouchi I just think games can wait until lunch… I want don't want to end back up in detention just yet."

Yugi slipped his bag under his desk looking ahead to a group of boys that had just walked into the room. One of the boys that caught his attention was white-haired, trailing behind the cluster like he was making an effort to stay separate. He clutched a book tightly to his chest as he found a spot right at the front. Yugi watched him with fascination for some time until the teacher interrupted.

The white-haired boy stood up in front of the class, at the request of the teacher. He was slightly hesitant at first and he quickly looked to the teacher for aid. The teacher nodded understanding and quickly introduced him.

"This is Ryou, he is an exchange student who had recently moved from England to study Japanese at our school. Make him feel welcome, and help him if he needs it."

The class said, 'Hello Ryou,' in a half-hearted monotone and Ryou returned to his seat. The teacher began to talk about Atomic structures, and that is when the class seemed to doze off.

Yugi's attention had drifted off halfway through and he looked over at Jounouchi to see how he was handling it all, his friend had his face planted headfirst on the desk sound asleep. Yugi poked his friend lightly on the shoulder and then looked back at the teacher.

After class a student came up to Jounouchi in the hall and introduced himself as Ryuji Otogi, Jounouchi seemed to recognize the name before he was giving the boy a hand-shake.

"Long time no see Otogi!"

Yugi felt out-of-place at that moment as Jounouchi bought the boy in for a quick hug and when they pulled back he looked across at Yugi.

"This is my friend from Middle school, Yugi."

Yugi blushed as the black-haired boy looked over him and smiled.

Otogi not taking his eyes off Yugi replied: "Jou, how long have you been hiding this one for!?"

Jounouchi laughed and Yugi covered his face with his hands.

"Yug'," Jounouchi began looking at Yugi, "This is an old friend of mine from way back, Otogi."

Yugi looked the boy over, he had an obvious height difference as being almost a hand higher than Jounouchi and beaded black-hair, there was an easy-going aura about him which reminded Yugi so much of his friend.

"It's been too long man, we need to catch up sometime!"

"Definitely Jou!"

Otogi gave the two of them a wave and walked off down the hall.

"He's nice," Yugi pointed out as they walked to their next shared class.

Jounouchi nodded, his smile pinned from ear-to-ear, as he was reminded of Otogi.

"He is Yug'," Jounouchi admitted pausing to take Yugi for a second off to the side, "I just must warn you now that he is… He is different from a lot of my other friends, he sleeps around a lot."

Yugi looked at Jounouchi slightly confused. "Why do I need to know this…?"

Jounouchi held out both of his hands to stop Yugi for a moment so he could continue.

"Otogi is a charmer and he values both males and the opposite sex. I am just warning you now so that you don't become caught under it."

"Why should I have to worry though Jou?" He paused, laughing nervously, "I mean… I don't go that way anyway."

Jounouchi nodded, confirming he was aware of Yugi's sexual preferences. "Yeah, I just don't want you it get hurt."

Yugi tilted his head to examine Jounouchi, slightly. "You don't need to protect me all the time Jou."

"I know Yug'."

X

"There's that strange boy."

Yugi looked up from his hand of cards across the grass to the white-haired boy who had been in their English class. Anzu, who was lying sprawled out on her side with her own hand cards, took the opportunity to look as well. Jounouchi indicated towards the boy.

Ryou was standing beside a water fountain looking sheepish as a large group of older boys nudged past him to get a drink. He clutched his book tighter and looked desperately around for an empty place to rest.

"He doesn't look too strange," Yugi pointed out, "You just have never seen someone with such white hair which looks our age! Now that I think about it, he kind of looks like Bakura."

Jounouchi looked down at his own cards and frowned. "Why do I never get a good hand in the first round?"

Yugi did not seem to notice Jounouchi had spoken as he put his cards down and began to walk over to the white-haired boy.

Jounouchi followed suit and got up to follow Yugi. Anzu was texting someone on her phone so made no move to join them.

X

Ryou was still getting over how different Japanese high school was compared ones at home. For starters, everyone was a lot shorter, and secondly everyone could not stop commenting on his hair, as if it was some mystic artefact. If he was honest, he did not like the attention he was getting as he made his way between classes, it made him feel vulnerable and even more alien.

Taking a hand to relieve the pain of his bag strap which was digging into his shoulder, he slipped a thumb loosely under the strap to even out the weight, he probably needed to get a locker at some point. He became aware of a pair of students walking in his direction, he straightened up, taking a slow deep breath.

The smallest boy who Ryou vaguely recognized from one of his classes came up and bowed his head in a quick casual movement; he smiled at him as if expecting him to do something.

His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the Japanese customs he had been taught in his classes back in England. He gave them a quick mumbled apology and greeted them in a polite dialect of Japanese. He then dropped his body in a stiff bow, pausing for a moment before bringing himself up to look at the boys.

The tall, sandy-haired boy looked at him strangely, but the smallest one who had Tricolored hair which looked like it was defying gravity replied to him with another bow, and speaking with a heavily accented attempt at English.

"Hello, my name is Yugi," the boy said in English, he paused, trying to think of the words to say next before he beamed at Ryou again, "This is Jounouchi, but call him Jou."

Ryou gave the pair a small smile, returning to Japanese. "I think I might have seen you in my science class in first period."

Yugi nodded excitedly, giving up on the little English he knew, he shot off into speech, talking so quickly Ryou almost could not catch up with him. "If you want, you can come and sit with us over there, we are just playing cards."

"Oh, I don't want to bother you or anything…"

Jounouchi shook his head. "The more people the better!"

Ryou eventually ended up playing card games with Anzu, Yugi and Jounouchi for the rest of lunch. He learnt a lot about the groups lives in that time, like for one Jounouchi lived on his own in a flat, Yugi in a Game Shop and Anzu lived with her parents.

"My father lived in Japan for a while, but I never got to go here until I was sent by my father this month!" Ryou explained as he watched a duel between Jounouchi and Yugi. "I live in a nice flat which my father pays for, whilst he is away working in Egypt."

"Why did you get sent here?" Anzu asked, curiously.

Ryou shook his head. "Lot of reasons, but they are not very interesting at all."

Yugi looked at the boy strangely slightly unconvinced. But before he could question his further Malik turned up just as the bell went. He decided to bury his curiosity at that moment.

"Where were you Malik?" Yugi asked curiously as they wandered slowly in a cluster back into the hall.

Jounouchi came up behind them. "He was probably with Marik."

Malik punished Jonouchi hard on the arm.

"How is he?' Anzu asked.

"Last time I checked, he had bunked classes with our little friend here," Jounouchi teased.

Ryou was listening to banter between the two friends as Yugi fell in sync with him.

"Don't worry too much about getting anything those idiots are saying they talk like this all the time I have just learnt to avoid getting too caught up in it," Yugi said watching his friends drift off to their classes.

Anzu slowed down at their departure.

"What do you have Ryou?" She looked at him.

Ryou looked at her surprised. "I, I, I think I have hard materials, what about you?"

"We have art," Yugi and Anzu replied in perfect sync together.

"Well," He stopped trying to find the right thing to say next. "Thank you for letting me play cards with you."

"You can come by anytime and my grandpa can give you some old cards he has in his shop if you would like to have a go again sometime."

"Here," Anzu handed Ryou a piece of paper. "It has mine and Yugi's number on it."

Ryou bowed at her awkwardly and then slipped off to his class.

X

Bakura could not get his head around why he had been paired up with such a hopeless partner in hard materials. He could not even cut a damn line with a handsaw without damaging the metal!

He took a deep breath and then shoved the little white-haired brat out-of-the-way.

"Now do us all a favor and stand right there where you won't touch anything."

The boy seemed to hesitate before he took a step back to allow Bakura to finish the cutting job, and once that had been finished, he gave the boy a glare for good measure, before returning to the plan in his workbook to see what needed to be done next.

The boy was breathing rather heavily, and that pissed Bakura off even more, it made him lose interest in the class and he dropped into his stall and slammed his book shut. He dug in his pocket looking for his lighter.

The boy was looking over the notes the teacher had given him as if he was planning on continuing the project on his own. Bakura did not give a shit anymore.

"If the teacher comes over, tell him I have gone to take a shit," Bakura said, standing up and taking his backpack over one shoulder.

The boy looked up slightly confused.

"Where are you going?"

Bakura frowned at the annoying sound of the English boy's attempt at Japanese. All the more reason to leave.

"I'm going to find someplace where I won't be annoyed by your voice and ugly looks every five seconds, finish the project and try to not muck it up any more than you already have."

He wandered off out of the workshop and off to find the nearest toilet to have a cigarette.

X

It had been no secret to anyone that Anzu had a huge crush on Atemu. Yugi had accepted that his friend had developed feelings for the boy sometime within the first day of his arrival, if it was not for his good looks or charm.

That was the sole reason she had taken art. She had taken most of the popular boys' classes in the hopes of attracting his godlike stare. Yugi was not sure how close she was to Atemu if they were friends or something more than that. He did not know how to approach her the fact he had been detention the other day with him, and it happened to come out in the end accidently through casual conversation.

Yugi was busy mimicking a painting style similar to Mondrian and had been on the conversation of Tetsu when the fact spilt out.

"Yugi!" She squealed excitedly turning to her other friend Miho. They both squealed together and girls together generally did. "Why didn't you bring this up sooner!"

Yugi blushed, looking slightly embarrassed. "I knew you would have wished straight away you could have been caught talking during assembly as well then you could have been in detention too."

"Of course!" Anzu exclaimed. "And you said he is going to be there this Friday too?"

Yugi hesitated for a moment wishing Anzu did not go to such drastic measures to get her heart desires. He knew, however, if he lied she would be annoyed at him so he nodded at her.

He covered his ears to the girls screaming and wished for a moment he had some guy friends in the class with him. It was not what Anzu and Miho were not good people, it was just that he felt slightly left out when Anzu was off with her girlfriends, and males tended to act more civilized and talked more about important things instead of fashion and gossip.

There are squealing were silenced by the main door opening as Atemu came into class twenty minutes late, he did not look like he cared at all. The whole class had turned to glance at the tall boy as he entered the room. Yugi found himself staring for the first time since seeing Atemu during detention.

Atemu was tall and slender with the most amazing eyes, he had ever seen, and apart from the fact that he had Yugi's exact hairdo, bar the fact he had more blond bangs. He had a finely chiselled angular face with an intense red eye, which when they looked at him seemed to lightly caress his soul.

He was halfway across the room when Anzu had stopped mid-sentence with Miho to gasp at Atemu and have her hand at him.

"Hello Atemu!" She greeted. "Come sit over here with me!"

Atemu looked over in her direction, but his gaze became caught not on the girl that was calling him just Yugi's own. What was odd was that when he looked at Yugi it was as if he had never seen another human being before, like the boy before him was the strangest creature in all of existence.

X

Anzu Masaki was sometimes the most irritating person Atemu faced on a daily basis. Sure, she had her good points, being fairly bright, and a nice person to have a conversation with if she was not drawling over you all the time. The Egyptian took his attention from her to refocus on the little boy Yugi, he forced himself, then at that moment to think nothing else of the group and he headed over to sit with a group of his friends in the far corner.

He was not going to think anything more of Yugi, he had already done enough of it over the weekend. Friday still seemed a strange memory in the back of his mind, where he knew he had acted out of character, and it seemed for those few hours as well Yugi had been in the same situation.

His little stunt after detention on Friday had left him slightly confused and embarrassed all at once. He had hoped that he could have quickly forgotten the way the boy's light voice pierced through his skin and ended up wedged in a spot around his heart. Being with a friend like him would just complicate things and Atemu was fine with the way his life was. Popular, he could get any other friends he wanted, so there was no need to sink as deep as Yugi.

However Anzu on the other hand was able to maintain her popularity, even though the majority of the 'popular group' thought she was slightly crazy, she was good friends with Jounouchi, Yugi and their gang.

Within five minutes of entering the art class Atemu was cornered by the teacher and she went on about the importance of learning. Bullshit that he had already heard a billion times before, and he could have recited a whole speech for half an hour on the matter if he wanted to. She had made him move himself from his friends and to a spot at the front where she could keep an eye on him, and in doing so ended up in a place he was trying to avoid, right bang smack next to Yugi. Was the universe out to ruin his life or something?

X

Yugi dropped his head in embarrassment and picked up his brush to continue his painting, trying not to draw attention to himself.

Anzu spend much of the class paying less attention to her artwork and more to the life sized one in front of her. Yugi felt a strange feeling of possessiveness that he was not entirely sure who it was directed at, but he largely ignored it.

Atemu was fairly quiet, as he had been in detention, but after minutes passing, he turned to Yugi to ask what they were meant to paint. Yugi glanced up at him from his painting and was met with his intense gaze. His insides swelled with emotion acting as if his innocent question had been something more intimate.

"We are meant to be looking at a painting of Mondrian, although I am not really a fan of him myself."

A small smile crept up his face and he looked down at what Yugi was painting.

"That is quite good," He pointed out, before he could stop himself. "I had seen real paintings by Mondrian when I went to an exhibition in Paris when I was younger. They are much better in person, and that experience can help change your mind about someone, even a painter."

Yugi blushed finding he was losing concentration as he had been repainting the same redline for the past minute or so.

"What is Egypt like?" Anzu asked, interrupting her friend's conversation with Atemu.

Atemu pulled back a bit from Yugi and leaned back in his chair, his gaze finding a spot on the table of which to rest it as he frowned at the mention of his homeland.

"Sand that's all there is to say about it."

Anzu looked and Miho and then attempted another conversation.

"I can help you with your painting if you'd like?"

Atemu looked up at her blankly.

"I do not need help Masaki, but if I do, I will be sure to ask."

Anzu looked slightly hurt at Atemu's use of her last name which completely pushed back her opinion of their friendship. But she did not let it ruin the moment.

"Atemu, we are friends you can call me Anzu."

Atemu looked at her, unconcerned. "You can call me as you like, but I hardly know you and I wouldn't call you said friend as of yet as we haven't reached that stage."

He stood up after his rather blunt reply to Anzu, and just in time for the bell to go.

He left his papers the teacher had given him about the assignment, taking his bag he was gone.

Anzu reached to grab Atemu's papers and Yugi looked at her quizzically.

"Atemu left them here I will take them and give them to him in his next period-."

"I can if you want -say you gave them to me to give to you?" Yugi suggested, trying to make it easier for his friend, knowing that she could easily get hurt if she were not careful.

Anzu seemed hesitant to give up her chance to talk to Atemu again, but she gave as she became aware of how she had acted. She looked slightly embarrassed that her pursuit for love had caused her to act slightly stupid.

"Was it too much?" She whispered handing over the paper after they had packed away their art supplies into their lockers.

"No, I just think Atemu is the sort of person that get enough fan girls going at him on a daily basis… I just don't want you to get hurt Anzu."

Anzu looked slightly hurt by Yugi's observation, but she did not press the matter any further as every time she thought about it anymore she realized how true it really was.

She pulled her friend in for a silent hug before she darted off out of sight.

X


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Atemu walked into the boy's changing room IN the gym to find his friend Bakura already inside, dressed for the period of P.E. His friend looked up from his music player as he dropped his bag on the bench beside him.

"Why are you here so early?"

"I saw that freak again; he's in my English class."

Atemu laughed as he unzipped his bag to pull out his gym clothes.

"I walked straight out as soon as I saw his white head, so I have been sitting here for close to an hour."

"You could have texted me," Atemu pointed out, "I was in art, so I wouldn't have been missing much if you wanted company."

Bakura shrugged frowning as he quickly changed a song that was getting on his nerves. Seriously he needed to update his song list!

"I seem to have misplaced my phone, it is probably still at Malik's house from last night."

Atemu smirked as it was highly likely that his friend was right. He seemed to lose things all the time at their friend's houses, and he would not have been surprised if Malik had a whole room full of Bakura's lost and found items.

Atemu loosened the belt around his waist and slipped his leather pants quickly off, clad in only briefs and a tight shirt he was interrupted all of a sudden by a light voice from a meter away. He looked up, unbothered by his vulnerable state of dress. Yugi was standing before him holding a collection of paper's out to him.

Atemu raised the boy an eyebrow as he slowly took his eyes from the boy and began to slip off his shirt. He wanted to quickly finish what he started before he even asked what the boy was doing standing before him.

Once he had a pair of shorts on; he ended the boy's waiting with a friendly smile.

"What have you got there?" He asked eyeing the paper.

"You left your papers at art class, and I thought you should have them, so the teacher doesn't start yelling at you some more because you miss placed them."

Atemu smirked. "Thank you?"

"I just want to apologise… I realise I have been doing that a lot lately for people,"Yugi began, "Anzu is a really good friend of mine and she is a good person. I just think she is confused about herself right now, and what she wants. She doesn't mean to act like she did before, she gets ecstatic about things and sometimes she forgets to think. My point is that, please give her a chance, if not in some kind of 'romantic' relationship, than as a friend."

Atemu was surprised that a boy had so much heart love for his friends as much as Yugi showed right there. He had shown him his strength again and again through detention when he stood up for Jonouchi and again how with Anzu. He wished he could find the strength within himself sometimes which would show some courage that measured up to Yugi's but Atemu was at a loss with how he could. He admired Yugi for that.

Atemu thought on the boy's request for a moment, but not wanting to disappoint the Yugi he gave him a small nod. He would do it for him more than anyone, as a gift for his courage.

"As long as you don't expect me in this agreement to go on a date with her, I don't mind."

Yugi's face grew brighter, his mouth wide with excitement and gratefulness.

"Thank you, Atemu!"

His checks became a tinted pink as he became aware that the boy before him was shirtless. He gave the two of them a small wave, giving Bakura and a quick "hello and goodbye," in the process before he made his way into a changing cubical.

Bakura came up close to his friend, curiously he whispered: "What is this about Anzu?"

"She is a friend as it turns out with Jonouchi and Yugi."

"And?"

"I believe I have just made a deal with someone to give her a second chance."

"But you do know she's a female, right?"

"Yes Bakura I am well aware of that," Atemu assured him as he slipped on his gym shirt and stuffed his clothes into his bag.

"And she has boobs, I thought you didn't go for that?" Bakura asked teasingly.

"Just because I do not actively have romantic relationships with women doesn't mean I can't be friends with them."

The two friends continued having a verbal spar between each other as they left the changing room and went to the gym to warm up.

X

Tetsu had been looking for a small boy all day and normally he would not have been hard to pick out from a group; he was normally the one who had the brightest hair which stuck out as obvious as a traffic light. He woke from his slumber at the entrance to the gym as the last bell for the day echoed over his head. A class wondered out a few minutes later, and Tetsu pulled up from the wall, flexing his arm muscles, he needed his money.

He smiled as he spotted the boy, walking with a group of his friends causally across the yard. He was not going to be nice this time; there would be no foreplay. He needed his clients to know that his services did not come cheap, and they could not squeeze so easily out of the loan.

He picked the easiest target of the three of them, Yugi Mouto. Tetsu suddenly ran up behind him grabbing him by the bag and pulling him off balance before he had any time to react. He was on the ground in an instant; face crushed into the concrete, and his back held down by Tetsu's large foot.

"Got my money?" Tetsu asked roughly.

A tall boy with messy sandy hair was suddenly running at Tetsu to throw a punch at his face. Testu blocked the fist with ease, adding to it with a countered punch to the boy's face. He landed on the ground unconscious next to Yugi.

"Jou!" Yugi cried breathlessly in a raspy voice.

"We don't want any trouble Tetsu…" Honda said. He was looking back at Tetsu a look of terror on his face but at the same time a hardness that showed there would be some fight to protect his friends.

Tetsu did not like when his victims told him what he could and could not do. He took his foot off from the collapsed Yugi, and he made an attempt at Honda. The boy blocked a punch and managed to run a few meters away before the bully lost interest and returned to Yugi.

Yugi took his opportunity to crawl over to Jonouchi, checking his friend was still breathing. He pulled himself to his feet and stood between his friend and the bully. He did not want anyone else getting hurt.

"Leave us alone, _please."_

He spoke from the heart without the fancy words most people in a fight had the ability to use. He wished sometimes that he would take the speeches his heroes from stories made and sell them as well as they did.

"I bet you all are _Fags_."

Honda had managed to find Kaiba hanging around with a group of friends and had convinced him to come over and help fend off the bully. Considering also his boyfriend had just been assaulted he was more than willing to help.

Kaiba glared at Tetsu at the insult meant for him and Jonouchi, he instructed Yugi to take Jonouchi so Honda, and he could handle the pathetic bully from there. Yugi did not give in to his friends request, and he apologised to them in advance. Before he could be stopped, he was confronting the bully.

"Leave them alone," Yugi commanded, standing strong but completely exposed to the bullies assaults. His voice was not a plea as it was more a warning that if Tetsu laid a hand or said anymore he would not stand by any longer and let it continue. "If you want someone to pick on here I am, bring it on!"

"Yugi don't be stupid," Kaiba warned.

Tetsu sneered reaching down in an attempt at grabbing Yugi by the collar. But the boy suddenly ducked and slide between the man's legs landing on his knees as he completed the manoeuvre. He quickly jumped to his feet and spun round to Tetsu. The bully did not look amused in the slightest, and he was quicker in his movements this to grab Yugi. He caught him just as he made a sideways step to avoid a dummy-punch, pulling him up off his feet and bringing him close to his own face so he could stare him down.

"Fight me fag, show me how strong you are. Then, when I win you have to pay me triple for what you already owed me."

A figure suddenly came into the show at that moment. Flashing like a cape-wearing hero by the speed he ran, he quickly launched forward without warning and had Tetsu on the ground moaning in pain within a few seconds. His moves were swift and intelligent avoiding Tetsu's blows with ease as he passed bellow the man's guard and dealt him a single punch between his legs.

Yugi used the moment of weakness to pull himself from Tetsu's grip and took a step back to get out of the boy's area of reach, he observed the scene with both admiration and shock.

Atemu knelt down beside Tetsu and warned him in a harsh tone. "If you touch my friends ever again I will personally make sure that the next punch permanently ruins your chances of any children. But that would not be such a bad thing anyway."

Yugi looked amazed at Atemu's quick take-down of Tetsu, but he did not say a lot when the boy asked him if he was ok. Yugi just nodded and returned to his place alongside Jonouchi.

Atemu looked sceptical as he eyed the boy's bruised checks and dishevelled clothes; he wanted to question his further, but Jonouchi was the main concern right now.

"Where did he get hit?" Atemu asked as he knelt down beside Yugi and the fallen boy.

"I didn't get much of a chance to look," Yugi admitted sounding worried.

Kaiba was soon at Jonouchi's side aswell, and he carefully inspected his boyfriend over, checking his neck for a pulse, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Honda and Bakura were standing overhead watching.

"I saw his shoulder hit the ground first, followed quickly by his lower body than head," Honda explained.

Kaiba finished looking Jonouchi over before he slipped an arm under his lower back and shoulders, he lifted him up slowly, using his legs to brace himself against the boy's weight and lift him up. Atemu gave his cousin a hand in picking Jonouchi up. Kaiba paced his boyfriend's head on his chest and held his upper body whilst Atemu took hold of the legs and lower abdomen.

"We will need to get him to the sickbay, we have to make sure he didn't hit his head too hard," Kaiba instructed.

The group migrated slowly through the school halls, until they came to the office. The sickbay was a small isolated part of the building that was quiet and hardly disturbed by any unwanted sounds from children outside. The nurse had instructed the boys to pace their friend down on one of the beds near a window whilst she went off to fetch some medical equipment.

Atemu took a few steps back to allow Jonouchi and friends some privacy; he took a chair and sat down watching the exchanges.

Yugi's face was bruised and battered from the fight earlier, and one of the straps on his bag had ripped, but he looked fine despite this. He was sitting on the edge of the bed looking down at his friend with concern, having not uttered much since arriving. One of his hands held on to Jounouchi's hand which lay limply at his side, whilst his other clutched the head of his bag. His feet dangled a foot from the ground. Atemu hid a secret smirk.

Honda hung back with a few of the friends that had joined them on the way there, Malik's friend Marik and a white haired boy which Atemu did not recognise. But from the ways Bakura kept sending him an evil stare suggested it was the boy from his metalwork class. Ryou, if he recalled correctly.

"Hello cousin," Atemu said not looking up from the scene as he felt a presence beside him.

"Nice work you did there," Kaiba admitted, "and to be honest I thought you wouldn't have it in you."

Atemu ignored his cousin's remark and kept his eyes focused ahead.

"Jou was adamant you hated his guts."

That caught Atemu's attention as he strayed away from Jonouchi to look up at Kaiba.

"What made him think that?"

Kaiba smirked at Atemu knowingly, holding a finger to his forehead so his cousin could see his wordless exchange to him. The two despite feeling oppressed by the aftermath of the fight, forgot for a moment that they might dislike each other and they shared a small laugh.

"I think after today though he will probably be after you for an explanation."

Atemu's laughing fell away, replaced by a quizzical brow

"Why could that be?"

"You're not meant to save the underdogs," Kaiba pointed out, "You are the pinnacle of this whole school; it is the rules is it not?"

Atemu tightened his lips; narrowing his eyes self-consciously he turned his attention back to the front.

Kaiba suddenly moved away from his cousin and went to join Yugi by Jonouchi's side. The nurse had just come back in and was looking the boy over.

Bakura replaced Kaiba's place beside Atemu he had not spoken to Atemu since the fight. He looked at his friend curiously when he felt his gaze upon him.

"What's up?" Atemu asked raising an eyebrow.

Bakura shrugged. "I just can't wait till this bloody day is over with."

Atemu nodded in agreement. "Want to go now?"

The two rose from their seats; Atemu made a quick stop to check on what the nurse was saying about Jonouchi's condition, and it sounded all right. Yugi was standing off to the side, frozen.

Bakura said he would meet Atemu outside, and he swandered out of the sick bay. Atemu went over to stand by Yugi's side.

"The nurse days he will be all right?" Atemu asked; Yugi jumped at the sound of a deep voice behind him. He looked behind and saw Atemu leaning against one of the bedheads, his face revealing a look of concern as well as casual coolness.

Yugi stumbled in his attempt to compose a comprehendible sentence. "I-I-I think he will live, he tends to get knocked out really easily."

Yugi put a hand up to rub the back of his neck, and he gave a small light hearted laugh, a sound that caused Atemu to smile.

"I am glad to hear that he is all right," Atemu admitted, "And that Tetsu was not able to hurt anyone any more than he already did… Are you all right?"

The bruised checks of the boy went a light shade of pink under his eyes as Atemu reverted the conservation back to him.

"I am all right, just slightly grazed," Yugi assured him. "But speaking of which, where did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?" Atemu asked knitting his eyebrows together.

"That karate move or whatever it was."

He relaxed his face as it became clear. "Let's just say I grew up with it."

"Well," Yugi said, "It looks like I owe you another thank you."

Atemu shook his head closing his eyes and holding his arms out to stop his friend's attempts to thank him.

"You don't owe me anything."

"Okay…"

Yugi was looking at him strangely, as if Atemu had something alien. He decided to not question the boy about it for the state of his checks were already as red as they could be, and Bakura would probably punch him if he kept him any longer.

Atemu held out a hand to Yugi. "I think this might do for now."

Yugi's wide eyes pared down at the popular boy's hand as if it was going to infect him with poison from an invisible snake wrapped around his arm.

Atemu smirked, laughing lightly. "I assure you I do not have a snake up my arm."

Yugi took hold of the boy's hand in his own, his strong grip a perfect fit around his soft small hands. They held them in an embrace for a short time before Atemu pulled back.

"Bakura is waiting outside for me," He said, sounding annoyed by that fact. "I will see you round?"

Atemu gave his friend one last smile before turning and briskly walking out of the sickbay.

X


End file.
